I live in Shetland and love to sew. Follow my blog to see the latest additions to my handmade wardrobe.

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I finished my 2017 Vintage Pledge dress just in time, on the penultimate day of the year.

This was an interesting project, it took a long time to make despite not looking too complicated. This was mainly because I hacked the pattern and kept changing my mind about the style details.

The pattern was a gift from a family friend last Christmas. I posted a photo of the pattern cover on Instagram earlier this year as I had hoped sharing my intention to make this dress with the sewing community would spur me on to get it done. My major stumbling block was that I couldn’t make a decision about which fabric to use. I had an image in my head of a beautiful version in silk dupion, but as I had never attempted the pattern, that seemed a bit of a risky investment. Towards the end of the year I searched through my fabric stash and came upon this forgotten peach cotton lawn from Atelier Brunette.

On finishing the toile I realised the style of the pattern wasn’t really to my taste. The full gathered skirt swamped me and looked very old-fashioned.

I shared some images of the toile on my Instagram stories seeking advice from my fellow makers about whether to proceed with the pattern as was, or to hack. The majority chose hack, so hack I did.

I drafted a completely new skirt, kept the cool back detail, and modified the front bodice to give me a bit more coverage across the bust.

The instructions included with the pattern weren’t the best, and as I had made so many changes I basically had to disregard them and make up my own anyway.

The original pattern called for a button closure, but I extended the wrap and added ties, which I prefer.

I decided to finish the front edges of the dress with bias binding, rather than facings, and I am please with how this turned out. I admit I did intend to finish all the seams with bias tape too, but I got lazy and overlocked most of the seams instead. I love to finish a garment really carefully so it is as beautiful on the inside as the outside and to extend its life, but I was worried that this dress might not turn out wearable, so I found I was a bit reluctant to invest so much time into beautiful seam finishes.

Happily, I am really pleased with how this dress turned out and really surprised by how much I love this colour on me – I really need to experiment more with colour. It was out of my comfort zone, but I’m so glad I went for it, as I think it really suits me.

So far I have only blogged about my Dora Dresses, but if you have had a look at my pattern on Etsy, you will have seen that the download includes the option to make a hip length top version also.

The best part about the top version is that it is a great scrap busting pattern requiring very little fabric to make, approximately 1m for most sizes. You do also need 0.5m of lining material, but with wider fabrics and in smaller dress sizes you may be able to squeeze the whole top plus the lining out of 1m.

The fabric for the version in the photos below was from Backstitch. I bought it quite a long time ago, and had some scraps leftover from another project. This top was made out of those scraps, win!

The Dora top is a great layering piece and very versatile. In the summer I would wear my cotton lawn versions by themselves with jeans (it doesn’t really get warm enough here for shorts), but in winter I am layering them up with big cardigans and still getting so much wear out of them.

Below I’m wearing mine with this long cosy cardigan I bought a while ago from Celtic and Co. I love their knitwear and it’s made in the UK. I really should try and knit some cables at some point, but I’m still a bit intimidated, maybe one day.

If you like the look of the Dora top you might enjoy these posts about my Dora Dresses. The silver one and the green one.

Speaking of knitting, I just finished making this hat for Aaron. I had a couple of balls of wool left from this jumper project and the pattern for the jumper came with an additional hat pattern, so I thought I’d give it a go. It’s just a simple hat, as I left off the colour work, but Aaron says it is his favourite hat ever, so not a bad result. I think it looks a bit weird on me, but it really suits him and my dad has already requested I make him one, so I think this hat has been an unexpected hit.

We took the above photos on our Sunday walk a couple of weeks ago. It was really fun taking photos of Aaron. It made me realise I should probably make more handmade clothing for him. Can anyone recommend any good menswear patterns? I really struggle to find any I like. I did buy the Aldrich menswear book ages ago so maybe I should try drafting my own. So many ideas, so little time 🙂

I am thrilled to let you know that I have just uploaded my first digital sewing pattern design for sale on Etsy. The pattern is sold as a digital PDF file which can be downloaded and printed at home. It is available in sizes 8-18.

Attie and Dora is a sewing pattern company based in Shetland, Scotland. All the patterns are designed, cut and graded by me, Eleanor Coutts. Each pattern is designed with the goal in mind of creating the ultimate between seasons capsule wardrobe.

The Dora Dress is a modern take on the traditional slip dress with a 3 part empire line bodice. The pattern includes the additional option to make a hip length top version.

The bodice finishes just under the bust and the skirt is slightly flared skimming the body, to give a flattering silhouette.

Dora is suitable for makers who already have some experience of garment sewing. It is a relatively easy sew, with no tricky closures to deal with, but looks best when made with slinky fabrics with a lot of drape.

I had some help in the development of the Dora Dress and top from my wonderful testers. I couldn’t have done it without you. Megan, Allison, Miriam, Jenny, Georgia, Hannah, Laura, Jennifer, Lizzie and Linda.

I also need to say a big thank you to Leanne, Lens in the Lane, the wonderful photographer who captured the photos below.

If you make a Dora Dress I would absolutely love to see how you got on. Please share your makes using the hashtags #sewingdora #attieanddorapatterns

Also check out my Etsy Shop if you would like to see more photos of the Dora Dress including my silver version 🙂